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Winter/Spring Skincare Favorites

I am a make-up fiend. I love it! It’s hard to go into even the grocery store without going through the cosmetics section to see if I can find a coupon for my favorite Revlon lip crayons or something else. I even decided that I would give up make-up purchases for Lent. Of course, I had to stock up a little bit on basics before I could start that!

Today, I want to talk about some of my favorite products to use in the cooler months. Just in time for the warmer months! Great timing.

My combination skin is a tricky little beast. Fortunately, I never really had acne problems, but I’ve always had a very oily T-zone. This makes that “I just wash my hair twice a week so it stays healthy” trend pretty difficult to maintain. At the same time, I do have a couple dry patches that really show up in the winter. So the mission for my skincare for the past year or so has been to find a great skin care regime and foundation to make my skin moisturized without being oily.

My first step in keeping everything under control is this Checks and Balances cleanser from Origins. When I was in high school, we would always stop at the Origins counter to buy a gumball. They are so good! But I never really thought about their skincare products. After hearing about how great it was, I decided to give it a try and have absolutely fallen in love with everything I’ve used. The Checks and Balances cleanser has mixed reviews on Sephora. Some think that it leaves their skin too dry in spots. I do think it gives a very “squeaky clean” feel and can leave parts of my skin tight. But I like that as a starting point so I don’t have to battle the oil demons later. I especially love how much it foams. I put the smallest amount on with some water and rub in circular motions all over my face and rinse off. It smells so amazing and lasts FOREVER! I had one sample bottle that lasted over a month before I went to purchase the big bottle.

In the mornings, I use A Perfect World moisturizer, also from Origins. This is pretty heavy, and I was hesitant to try it at first. I told the woman helping me at the Origins counter that I did not want anything that was going to leave me feeling too oily. She let me know that I didn’t need to use very much at all and it would help my dry patches while normalizing my oily spots. Since I started using it in January, I have noticed a huge difference in how my skin acts throughout the day. I use the lightest amount on my face and neck and it seems to calm my skin. I used to turn very red after cleansing and moisturizing but that isn’t the case any longer! I may switch to only using this at night now that the weather is starting to warm up, since it is a little heavier.

The Modern Friction gentle dermabrasion is my go-to for exfoliation about twice a week. It is full of all natural ingredients, including rice starch as a refining agent and lemon oil as a brightening agent. If you have sensitive skin, you can wet your skin before you apply the product, if not, you can apply it directly to dry skin and massage in thoroughly for a few minutes. Then rinse it off. When I use this, I cannot stop touching my skin throughout the day. Bad for it, I know, but I can’t help it! It makes your skin softer than any baby bottom. Like all Origins products that I have used so far, a little goes a long way.

I started hearing about this oil several months ago from many different sources and picked it up in a small sample package at Sephora in December. I alternate it several nights a week with the perfect world moisturizer and I really like it! It’s smooth and goes on as a light oil formula, but absorbs overnight into my skin very well. Again, this is one of those things that I may mix up once it starts to warm up, but it has helped clear the few dry patches I’ve battled this winter.

My final product that I will probably swear by as long as they make it is the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour full coverage foundation. I adore the way it builds. If I don’t need much coverage, I use even smaller than a pea size amount and it glides on into a very velvety smooth finish. It keeps the oil at bay as well. I used to use MAC foundations, and really loved the look on my skin but hated the feel. This helps me achieve that same look without the gross feeling in the afternoon.

All of these products are in the “higher end” category of makeup, but I think they are all completely worth it. They all seem to last a long time, both in the bottle and on my face. They’re ALL natural, formulated without parabens or chemicals, so I can feel good about using them. Plus, they all have beautiful packaging that makes my routine seem luxurious. As we transition into the late spring/summer, I’ll be looking for products with different properties to help with humidity (great for that always “dewy” look, right?). What are some of YOUR favorite skincare products?

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I’ve been looking for something to use on my face lately! I also love makeup but I have pretty sensitive skin. For the most part, it is dry but moisturizers make my face feel greasy and break me out so I’ve been trying to find a face wash that won’t dry my face out and not break me out. I recently switched to Burts Bees natural wash but it leaves this feeling on my face like when you get oil or butter on your hands and try to wash it off. It’s the only thing I’ve found that doesn’t break me out but I hate the feel of it. Will the face wash and moisturizer work for me and not break me out? I use MAC powder plus foundation but it hasn’t been going on smooth lately. I think it’s because my face is too dry so I’m really hoping to find something that works for me so my makeup will go back to looking natural. How do the prices of these products look compared to MAC stuff?

I think you’d love the Checks and Balances to start! If you go to your Origins counter, they have a “facial in a box” that you can try. Their samples are huge! It comes with that face wash, the microdermabrasion, and a charcoal mask which I also really like. They’ll probably throw in a moisturizer that they think would work with your skin. The perfect world may be too greasy for your liking. The Tarte foundation is amazing! It actually says it absorbs excess oil and I think that’s true. Prices all $20-$40 range for all the products mentioned. And they last a long time! Let me know if you try any and what you think.